Remember, a successful business solves people’s problems. At first, you’re going to have to do the legwork and put in the time. But it’s about building something now so you can reap the benefits later, with the help of software, tools, automation, and people you hire. In this way, you can then turn this business that solves people’s problems into something that generates passive income for you!
Building an app today is likened to creating a website back in the day. Nearly everyone is building an app. Everyone. For that reason, there are droves of developers that could help you create the right app. But be prepared to invest time and energy into this project, not only on the conceptualization and development of it, but also on the marketing side.
A few people who started their own YouTube channel when the video-sharing site was in its nascent stage are now millionaires. Now that YouTube has become immensely popular with hordes of people running their own channels, making a million dollars is considerably more difficult, but earning a respectable sum of money is still possible. As always, you'll need to find a niche that isn't yet saturated and focus on making engaging videos around it. Once you start raking up views and subscriptions, the money will start flowing in with minimum effort on your part.
4) Calculate how much passive income you need. It’s important to have a passive income goal, otherwise, it’s very easy to lose motivation. A good goal is to try and generate enough passive income to cover basic living expenses such as food, shelter, transportation, and clothing. If your annual expense number is $30,000, divide that figure by your expected rate of return to see how much capital you need to save. Unfortunately, you’ve got to then multiply the capital amount by 1.25 – 1.5 to account for taxes. For example, $30,000 / 3% = $1,000,000 in capital needed to generate $30,000 gross. But since you must pay tax on the $30,000 income, you really need closer to $1,250,000 to generate $30,000 in after-tax income at a 3% rate of return.
Investing in a business: Another good way to generate passive income is to invest in a business --even a small one -- in return for a percentage of the profits - just like Shark Tank, only smaller. Lending $10,000 to a local business that, for example, is working on a mobile app for Apple phones could lead to a passive income-generated share of the profits when that mobile app starts selling like hot cakes.
Typically, the above formula will be applied such that the company is assumed to achieve maturity, or "constant growth". (Note that the value will remain identical: the adjustment is a "telescoping" device). Here, analysts commonly employ the Perpetuity Growth Model to calculate the corresponding terminal value[3] (although various, more formal approaches are also applied[4]). Then, assuming long-run, "constant", growth {\displaystyle g} from year {\displaystyle m} , the terminal value is
Anthony, nice setup! To your question about the rental mortgages, you haven’t said what interest rate you are paying. As a start, if you are paying more than the risk free rate (Treasury bills) which you probably are, then a true apples to apples comparison would be yes, pay off the mortgage. But, if you are comfortable taking more risk, you have other options to invest in which you *hope* will yield you more over the coming years. You also didn’t say whether the rentals generate net income and if so, how much? What is the implied rate of return on the equity you have invested in them? If you pay the mortgages off, you’ll have even more equity tied up, will the extra net income make that worthwhile? Maybe you should use the money to buy more rentals instead, if purchase opportunities still exist in your town. … this is less of an answer than a framework to analyze the decision, hope it is helpful.
My esteemed marketing colleagues initially balked at the idea of creating products that generate royalties, so I can understand how creating something from nothing might be daunting for those who aren’t even in creative roles. However, realize there is this enormous world out there of photographers, bloggers, artists, and podcasters who are making a passive income thanks to the Internet.
I cut back on medicolegal work to free up time and reduce stress. I spend most of my time on medical directorship work and clinical practice. Free time is spent on exercising, travel, time with family, and blogging. I spend virtually no time on the other income streams at this point. Getting the plate spinning can be tough but then the momentum keeps them turning.
This is another way of ensuring regular income for a period of time. Let us say, you are uncomfortable with the idea of investing in high dividend yield stocks as they generally do not give price appreciation. Also, there is no assurance on dividend yields as dividends may fall if the profits of the company fall. Another way out is to invest the money into a debt fund and pay yourself through an SWP. Let us assume that you did the same SIP and ended up with Rs.1.41 crore at the age of 45. Now you want to pay yourself a regular income for a period of 15 years till your retirement. Here is how it will work.

Thank you for specifics that you write about as it helps educate a lot of us that do not have the experience and knowledge that you have acquired. I have been practice writing a travel blog about our upcoming month long trip to France with the hubby and two sons ages 12 and 10 and your site constantly gives me little boosts to keep working toward this goal!

DDM and FCFE models measure value by discounting a stream of expected cash flows. The residual income model starts with a book value and adds to this the present value of the expected stream of residual income. Theoretically, intrinsic value derived using expected dividends, expected free cash flow to equity, or book value plus expected residual income should be identical but this is rarely the case. It may be helpful though, to use a residual income model alongside a DDM or FCFE model to assess the consistency of results.

This venture requires both time and money, but it is certainly worth it. Making low-risk investments with your savings offers higher dividends than letting the money in the bank. While buying stocks in large corporations comes with a high degree of risk, mutual funds are relatively safer and less volatile. They also offer higher return-on-investment compared to fixed or recurring deposits made in banks.

Betterment – Betterment was the first robo-advisor to launch, almost ten years ago. They’ve automated the entire investing process, so all you have to do is watch your portfolio of assets grow (over the long run, of course). They do charge a .25% annual fee of your account total, so if you’ve got $100,000 that’s being managed by Betterment, you’ll pay just over $20 per month.
Another great idea for generating passive income is to create an online course. What can you teach others that would help them to improve in critical areas of their lives? Do you have technical skills that you’d be great at relaying? Do you have skills in the areas of web development, graphic design, finance, accounting, legal, marketing or any other field?

But I agree with you on the pain to manage. We had one tenant, my biggest learning experience that trashed the place. We sued him in small claims and won, then he appealed. In small claims, you can bring an attorney on appeal. He did and the amt owed was reduced. He had purchased a house so we put a lien on it. Then he filed bankruptcy, and we received a letter from his attorney telling us to take off the lien. We did. So we received nothing. Our corporate attorney at work was advising me along the way. I always remember what he said when it was all over. ‘Chalk this up as a lesson in jurisprudence”

My favorite type of semi-passive income was rental property because it was a tangible asset that provided reliable income. As I grew older, my interest in rental property waned because I no longer had the patience and time to deal with maintenance issues and tenants. Online real estate became more attractive, along with tax-free municipal bond income once rates started to rise.
I actually spent a year and a half working as an affiliate marketer (mostly selling drumming related products – lessons, kits ect). 5 years on and one of my one page sites (which I’ve not touched) still nets me about $150 a month. I won’t be retiring off that but only really now appreciate the reverse pyramid approach to entrepreneurship (working for nothing initially but later being paid without effort!)
In addition to an extra income stream, residual income allows you to diversify your revenue sources. Instead of relying on your standard paycheck, you’re earning money through the royalties of an eBook or the sales of an online course. Diversity of income gives your overall financial portfolio more security and depth. Similar to passive income, residual income gives you more financial stability, flexibility with your lifestyle, additional retirement savings, and a more robust financial standing.
The circular flow of income is a concept for better understanding of the economy as a whole and for example the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs). In its most basic form it considers a simple economy consisting solely of businesses and individuals, and can be represented in a so-called "circular flow diagram." In this simple economy, individuals provide the labour that enables businesses to produce goods and services. These activities are represented by the green lines in the diagram.[4]
You need to decide which machines you want to run, get the necessary licenses to operate them (you're selling items so you need to get sales licenses and whatnot from your state), buy the machines and a truck for the items in the machines, find a supplier of the products, and then finally you can secure locations. Finally, you need to service them periodically or hire someone to service them.
I cut back on medicolegal work to free up time and reduce stress. I spend most of my time on medical directorship work and clinical practice. Free time is spent on exercising, travel, time with family, and blogging. I spend virtually no time on the other income streams at this point. Getting the plate spinning can be tough but then the momentum keeps them turning.
If you are a photographer looking to diversify your income stream, putting together styled stock photo packages can be lucrative. For example, a package of 15 wedding-themed stock photos for $10. You can then market this to any bloggers or businesses who are in the wedding business for their use (photos of different engagement rings styles are super popular). Through this method, it’s possible to make a continuous stream of income off of photos you’ve taken once (similar to a licensing deal).

Passive income differs from active income which is defined as any earned income including all the taxable income and wages the earner get from working. Linear active income refers to one constantly needed to stay active to maintain the stream of income, and once an individual chooses to stop working the income will also stop, examples of active income include wages, self-employment income, martial participation in s corp, partnership.[4] portfolio income is derived from investments and includes capital gains, interest, dividends, and royalties.[5]

During the trial, Karen offered proof that she and Brad had built the business together, and that the downline was the result of their joint efforts – not just Brad’s. Karen argued that the residual income from the downline should therefore be split at a 60/40 rate on a monthly basis. Brad, on the other hand, asked the trial court to value the business. Upon valuation, the court could either allow him to buy out Karen’s share or direct that the business be sold, with the proceeds being split 60/40 between the two parties.
Or, there is another theory for your primary salary – generate enough to have a little excess cash flow, but do it at a place that you can work stress free and have time to dabble in other projects. A good friend of mine has this setup – he works 10-5 and makes $50,000 a year. This allows him to easily cover all of his expenses, but the shorter hours and flexibility in his job allows him to pursue his secondary income generating ideas!
"Multiple Streams of Income" by Robert G. Allen is a book is full of great information on how to free yourself from "the rat race." Although some of the information is outdated for our current economic climate, the information is still valuable, and heartily recommend the read. There are many chapters of relevant information to balance anything you may consider unusable. He teaches you that there are many ways to earn money outside of a regular job. He also leads you through determining which avenue is right for you, and gives you all the tools you need to get started on the basics. "Multiple Streams of Income" has helped me alot.
What if there was a way for you to effectively make money while you sleep? Sounds like a dream come true, right? Even for the biggest workaholics, there are only so many hours in a day. If only you could get paid multiple times for something you did once—that’s exactly how passive income works! Thanks to technology, the potential to create multiple income streams is even easier than ever before. We’re no longer held back by the limitations of a traditional 9-to-5 job, and financial freedom is at our fingertips. Even if you already work a full-time job you can still improve your financial health with passive income.
Department C has earned $142.5 million residual income as compared to $40 million earned by department P. Residual income allows us to compare the dollar amount of residual income earned by different departments. Since the residual income in both cases is positive, we conclude that both have met the minimum return requirements. However, with residual income is not easy to compare performance.
Great ideas here, and thanks for the link! I’m definitely interested in learning about using an Ebay store, although I’ve heard they are not as effective as they used to be. One interesting problem that arises though is with online work, that is, work performed via the internet. If one does not reside in one’s home country while doing it it might be considered illegal (so check on all those tax implications).
Looking for ways to build financial wealth long-term without adding more work to your daily life? Residual income allows you to increase your fortune passively — meaning you’re earning cash while you eat, sleep, and brush your teeth. With the substantial increase of online platforms and opportunities, residual income is easier to achieve than ever before.
Great ideas here, and thanks for the link! I’m definitely interested in learning about using an Ebay store, although I’ve heard they are not as effective as they used to be. One interesting problem that arises though is with online work, that is, work performed via the internet. If one does not reside in one’s home country while doing it it might be considered illegal (so check on all those tax implications).
Many bloggers and social media influencers build significant residual income through affiliate partnerships. If a blogger promotes or mentions a product on their site, and readers purchase the product through the link provided, the blogger earns a percentage of the revenue. The same goes for social media influencers. If someone promotes a product on Instagram and their followers purchase it through their link, the Instagrammer would receive a portion of that revenue.
Teachable and Udemy are two of many, but these are the most prevalent, and they’re both intuitive and user-friendly. With Teachable, you have more control over your pricing and the look and feel of your course, but you don’t get a built-in audience. Instead you have to do all the marketing yourself. Udemy has a built-in base of students, but you don’t have as much control and they take more of your revenue.
Whether you know how to flawlessly apply eye makeup or build a wooden shelving unit, you can create an online course or video for others to follow. Websites like Udemy and Teachable allow you to build a course, such as how to learn a new language or write a cover letter. Once you build your course and set the price, there’s little work to be done. You’ll receive residual income from each person who signs up to take your course.
I agree mostly with the real estate advice. I’m looking for ways to take advantage of the condo I own to get up the rent from ~$0.90/ft to the $1.2-1.5/ft that seems more like the range in the same area. I’d have to put in a bit of capital (probably 10k on the low end for just the basics up to 40k if I wanted to remodel the kitchen and 2 bathrooms up to par with the area), so the return is likely there if those upgrades warrant $1.30/ft (given the unit is larger than most 2br/2ba in the area).
A perfect example of the Active Problem Solving + Automation concept is in my online courses I’ve created over the years, or my free webinars I’ve created more recently Each of my online courses and webinars are targeted to help people with specific problems, whether that’s in the area of affiliate marketing, podcasting, building a brand, and so forth. I am always improving upon the courses, but they are also evergreen for my audience.
This is not to say that the circular flow diagram isn't useful in understanding the basics of an economy, such as leakages and injections. However, it cannot be ignored that the economy intrinsically requires natural resources and the creation of waste that must be absorbed in some manner. The economy can only continuing churning if it has matter and energy to power it and the ability to absorb the waste it creates. This matter and low entropy energy and the ability to absorb waste exists in a finite amount, and thus there is a finite amount of inputs to the flow and outputs of the flow that the environment can handle, implying there is a sustainable limit to motion, and therefore growth, of the economy.[18]
The book is not bad but it's not that great either. Think of it as an idea book in which you see him mention something and then research it futher. The rambling just becomes too much as you move along to the point where it becomes annoying to read. The tone the author uses is very nonchalant and he doesn't really explain anything. Ideas are just thrown out.
Venture Debt ($12,240/year): The first venture debt fund has returned almost all my initial capital so I decided to invest $200,000 in the second fund. I took a risk investing $150,000 in my friend’s first fund, so I’m hoping there’s less risk in the second fund given he has four more years of experience on top of his 12+ years experience running a venture debt portfolio for another company.
If you’re looking for a way to begin gradually replacing your income, these are just some of the best ways you can do it as a physician. Remember the idea of gradual retirement? Passive income streams like the ones mentioned here are perfect ways to allow you to spend more time with family, enjoy your day job more, and, of course, make a little money while you’re at it.
As a private lender, you can lend to anyone in your social circle. For example, many home rehabbers need access to a source of capital they can tap into very quickly in order to fund the initial purchase of their properties. You can partner with a rehabber who uses your capital for a short-term in exchange for an interest rate that is mutually agreed upon.
As interest rates have been going down over the past 30 years, bond prices have continued to go up. With the 10-year yield (risk free rate) at roughly 2.55%, and the Fed Funds rate at 1.5% (two more 0.25% hikes are expected in 2018), it’s hard to see interest rates declining much further. That said, long term interest rates can stay low for a long time. Just look at Japanese interest rates, which are negative (inflation is higher than nominal interest rate).
Don't mistake passive income with zero work. It's still work, it's just that your income is not directly tied to the hours worked. Anyone who owns rental properties knows that it's considered passive income but there is quite a bit of work involved. The work is front heavy but if you are lucky, you can collect rental checks without incident for many months before having to do work.
One of the benefits of the time we live in is all the software and technology we have available. If you want to scale a business that’s bigger than yourself, you’re going to need systems in place to get you there. These systems should involve automating as much as you can. The less involvement of you in the day-to-day means you have time to focus on the big picture strategies that help your business grow.
Ask yourself how many hours a week do you spend sitting in silence, coming up with an idea and working on your idea? We’re so busy with our jobs that our childhood creativity sadly vanishes at some point in our lives. There are food bloggers who clear over $15,000 a month. There are lifestyle bloggers who make over $10,000 a month while living in Thailand. And there are even personal finance bloggers who’ve sold their sites for multi-millions.
Passive income differs from active income which is defined as any earned income including all the taxable income and wages the earner get from working. Linear active income refers to one constantly needed to stay active to maintain the stream of income, and once an individual chooses to stop working the income will also stop, examples of active income include wages, self-employment income, martial participation in s corp, partnership.[4] portfolio income is derived from investments and includes capital gains, interest, dividends, and royalties.[5]
Haha, that is too funny. I wanted to make an app back in the day called “MyShares” (You can probably tell how I cam up with the name at the time). The idea was that I would loan out books and DVD’s and then would never get them back. Then I thought, how cool would it be if I could rent those items out and that would motivate people to bring them back. Obviously, books and DVD’s are cheap, so this isn’t the money maker. The idea that would probably make the most money would be things like tools, ATVs, etc.
It is hard to do both but you’re not supposed to. You’re supposed to get your safety net down THEN try to do high wire acrobatics above it – not set up the two at the same time. So get retirement and your emergency fund squared away, then consider the stock market (taxable) and real estate. There’s no rush! Don’t let others dictate your future because they don’t have the same priorities as you. 🙂
Injection means introduction of income into the flow. When households and firms borrow the savings, they constitute injections. Injections increase the flow of income. Injections can take the forms of investment, government spending and exports. As long as leakages are equal to injections, the circular flow of income continues indefinitely. Financial institutions or capital market play the role of intermediaries. This means that income individuals receive from businesses and the goods and services that are sold to them do not count as injections or leakages, as no new money is being introduced to the flow and no money is being taken out of the flow.
I sold back in the mid 80s. We took a second from the guy who purchased it. He paid us 7% a year on the amount he borrowed. That was actually a good thing. In a couple years, he paid the loan off early but we had an early payment clause that paid us six months of interest. I invested the proceeds in the market which was hot at the time. So, that was good. It turned out to be a great investment. My only regret was for diversification purposes, and that guaranteed income stream. We had one section 8 tenant who kept the place spotless, and we could always count on the government to pay. Plus if I had a good tenant, I would keep the rents low but with section 8, it didn’t matter, the government paid most of the rent and increasing the rental didn’t affect the tenant that much.
So, for instance, if the book value per share of Company XYZ is $5, then any unexpected financial results -- that is, any residual income -- will make the stock price deviate from that $5 mark. Those unexpected results are attributable to the management -- either it is underdelivering or overdelivering profits to the shareholders -- and indicate that the company is not going to earn a "normal" rate of return in the future. If Company XYZ begins reporting earnings per share for the quarter that are above Wall Street expectations, then management essentially gets the credit for any increase in the stock above that book value per share threshold. Likewise, if Company XYZ reports lower-than-expected earnings per share, then management also will get the blame for any decrease in the stock below book value per share.
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Another benefit of residual income is that, if the income stream is large enough, one does not need the main focus of his life to be on making enough money to survive. Having a comfortable and continuous level of residual income opens up more opportunities to travel, look into other business opportunities, and even take the time to indulge in his hobbies.

One of the things I'm surprised your article doesn't mention is the tax advantages of this type of investment. The depreciation and rehab costs (purchasing distressed properties) can be huge deductions to ones income taxes, which none of the others have. Then, along with the appreciation of real estate, this passive income investment outperforms the notion of maxing out my 401k as well.

Amazing article Jim. Jammed packed with great information and inspiration for a finance blogger looking to find ways to diversify income streams. Building up your capital, achieved through saving more than you earn as you described, will open doors to a lot of activities in the future. The name of the game is putting your savings to work to turn expenses and idle cash into income producing assets. It isn’t easy when you are starting from $0, but through discipline and time you will eventually be able to achieve your goals and begin using the methods you described to diversify your income streams.

The legendary investor, Warren Buffett rightly said that if you cannot create a second source of income by the age of 45, then you have really done injustice to yourself. If you are in business or if you are an independent consultant there are multiple streams that you can consider. But what if you are employed and your existing contract does not allow you to take up other work? Also, your pressures at your workplace may be tight enough to leave you with little spare time to worry about how to create a second stream of income. That is when you have to make money work hard for you. Let us look at two such approaches.

One of the easiest ways to get exposure to dividend stocks is to buy ETFs like DVY, VYM, and NOBL or index funds. You can also pay an algorithmic advisor like Wealthfront to automatically invest your money for you at a low fee. In the long run, it is very hard to outperform any index, therefore, the key is to pay the lowest fees possible while being invested in the market. Wealthfront charges $0 in fees for the first $15,000 and only 0.25% for any money over $10,000. Invest your idle money cheaply, instead of letting it lose purchasing power due to inflation. The key is to invest regularly.
Or, there is another theory for your primary salary – generate enough to have a little excess cash flow, but do it at a place that you can work stress free and have time to dabble in other projects. A good friend of mine has this setup – he works 10-5 and makes $50,000 a year. This allows him to easily cover all of his expenses, but the shorter hours and flexibility in his job allows him to pursue his secondary income generating ideas!

The first form of residual income, the leftover cash after bills and expenses are paid, is important when a person is growing their savings account or is seeking a loan or financing. When getting a loan, there must be an adequate amount of residual income available to ensure a person has the money to make the loan payments each month. If there is not adequate residual income, financing or loans will not likely be approved.